Utilizing fungus myceliated grain for molt induction and performance in commercial laying hens.

Molting in poultry is used to rejuvenate hens for a second or third laying cycle. Feed withdrawal was once the most effective method used for molt induction; however, it has being phased out due to food safety and animal welfare concerns. This study evaluated the utilization of fungus myceliated grain as a safe and effective alternative for inducing molt, enhancing immunity, reducing Salmonella growth, and returning to egg production. Laying hens were subjected to 1 of 5 treatments: 1) nonfed (NF), 2) full-fed (FF), 3) fungus myceliated meal (FM), 4) 90% fungus myceliated meal+10% standard layer ration (FM-90), and 5) 90% alfalfa meal+10% fungus myceliated meal (AF-90). Each treatment condition was replicated 9 times during a 9-d molt period. The results revealed that egg production for treatments 1 and 3 ceased completely by d 5, whereas hens in treatments 4 and 5 ceased egg production by d 6. The percentage of BW loss decreased significantly (P<0.05) in treatments 1 (57%), 2 (8%), 3 (35%), 4 (37%), and 5 (44%). Ovary weights of hens fed all molting diets decreased significantly from the full-fed control but did not differ significantly (P<0.05) from each other. Salmonella population in the crop, ovary, and ceca from hens differed significantly (P<0.05) among treatments. Return to egg production differed between treatments with higher production beginning in treatment 3 and ending in treatment 5. Antibody titers did differ (P<0.05) among treatments. From these results, fungus myceliated meal appears to be a viable alternative to conventional feed withdrawal and other methods for the successful induction of molt and retention of postmolt performance.

The effect of mushroom and pokeweed extract on salmonella, egg production, and weight loss in molting hens.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of mushroom and pokeweed extract alone or in combination with alfalfa meal on Salmonella spp. population, egg production, and weight loss in laying hens during a 10-d molting period. The trial used 54 active laying hens approximately 77 wk of age that were naturally infected with Salmonella spp. The layers were subjected to 1 of 9 treatment groups, replicated 3 times with 2 hens per replicate cage. The treatment conditions were as follows: 1) full-fed + H(2)0 (FFW), 2) full-fed + mushroom (FFM), 3) full-fed + pokeweed (FFP), 4) nonfed + H(2)0 (NFW), 5) nonfed + mushroom (NFM), 6) nonfed + pokeweed (NFP), 7) full-fed alfalfa meal + H(2)0 (FFAW), 8) full-fed alfalfa meal + mushroom (FFAM), and 9) full-fed alfalfa meal + poke-weed (FFAP). The results showed that the base-10 logarithm values of Salmonella from the ceca significantly increased (P

Performance assessment of broiler chickens given mushroom extract alone or in combination with probiotics.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of combined Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) extract with probiotics (PrimaLac) on the growth and health of broiler chickens. In trial 1, 540 d-of-hatch chicks were randomly assigned to 6 treatment groups, replicated 3 times, with 15 males and 15 females per pen for 3 wk. Dietary probiotics and mushroom treatments were as follows: 1) control feed + ad libitum tap water; 2) control feed + skip-a-day mushroom water; 3) control feed + ad libitum mushroom water; 4) probiotic feed + ad libitum tap water; 5) probiotic feed + skip-a-day mushroom water; 6) probiotic feed + ad libitum mushroom water. Body weight gain, feed consumption and efficiency, mortality, bursa, liver, and spleen relative weights of chicks were taken. In trial 2, the performance of broilers 3 to 7 wk withdrawn from the mushroom extract was evaluated along with the comparative level of fecal biofidobacteria in the control and mushroom extract treatment (trt). Mortality, weight gain, feed consumption and efficiency, carcass yield, fat pads, bursa weights and fecal bifidobacteria were measured in trial 2. In trial 1, significant differences (P < 0.05) in female weight gain (trt 4-0.62 vs. trt 1-0.54 kg) and male spleen weights were observed. In trial 2, significant differences were observed in male weight gain (trt 2-2.40 vs. trt 4-1.12 kg), male and female fat pads, male bursa weights (trt 3-0.15 vs. trt 6-0.39), female carcass yield percentage (trt 1-77.8 vs. trt 4-66.4), and feed consumption and efficiency. Body weights were severely depressed in the male broilers receiving the probiotics feed in treatments 4, 5, and 6, but not in the female broilers. These results indicate that performance differences in gender occur with additives during different grow-out periods, and mushroom extract promotes bifidobacteria growth in broiler chickens after 4 wk of withdrawal. It appears that probiotics and mushroom extract offered no combination potential for weight gain, which was compromised in this study, but possible health-enhanced attributes.